Technical Assistant III (Educ - Herbarium Collections Manager)

About the role

The Collections Manager (Technical Assistant III) of the University of Massachusetts Herbarium is responsible for managing and maintaining a herbarium of approximately 275,000 specimens and records, supervision of paid student and non-student curatorial assistants, and advising faculty, students, visiting researchers, and the general public using herbarium collections.

Essential Functions

• Perform day to day collections activities according to "best practices" of herbarium and natural history collections associations and societies.
  • Activities include mounting herbarium specimens, filing specimens according the system adopted by the University of Massachusetts Herbarium (MASS), repairing specimens using museum-quality techniques, shipping, receiving and accessioning specimens, maintenance and pest control.
• Day to day supervision, training, and design of workflow procedures for herbarium assistants and volunteers.
  • Supervise digitization (both data and imaging), and routine herbarium maintenance, including cleaning, specimen mounting and repair, pest control, foldering and filing specimens.
• Develop workflows to improve efficiency, quality, and safe handling of archival materials for herbarium work and collections-based research grants.
  • Includes specimen digitization and other special projects as needed.
• Maintain the herbarium’s Specify database, currently containing 130,000 herbarium records, with a goal of digitizing the remainder of the 250,000 vascular plants collection and the 5,000 non-vascular plants (bryophytes).
  • Database maintenance includes implementing software updates, data entry, overseeing the quality of herbarium-assistant data entry, importing data from incoming collections, exporting data to publicly accessible data portals, and quality control of portal data.
• Work with Specify Help, Symbiota Help, and UMass Biology Department IT staff to solve database problems or implement improvements.
  • Use rules developed by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) to make curatorial decisions regarding the specimen filing system.
• Monitor botanical taxonomic and nomenclature literature to maintain knowledge of resources sufficient to inform decisions for updating plant names in the collection.
  • Act as a resource for faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, regional botanists and the public.
    • This includes recommendations of methods and protocols for using herbarium collections, plant identification, and assistance with locating or occasionally collecting fresh plant material for research purposes.
• Conduct outreach by conducting occasional tours or workshops for UMass and other Five College botany, plant science and ecology classes, and conservation organizations as requested.
  • Conduct lectures or demonstrations on working with specimens, including collecting, pressing, handling, mounting and filing specimens, and meeting current standards for vouchering and publishing.
• Maintain other collections such as the Macro-Algae, Fruit and Seed, and Plant Pathology Collections.
  • Generate and maintain records of annual inventories, gifts and loans, correspondence, and inquiries.
• Participate in University of Massachusetts Natural History Collections Committee to inform curators on collections updates, improvements, and contribute to the mission of the Natural History Collections.
  • Keep track of materials and order supplies.
    • Maintain familiarity with archival materials and suppliers, perform quality control of archival supplies.
  • Keep up to date on herbarium best practices available through published literature, museum and botanical societies and organizations.
• Develop and maintain up-to-date knowledge of plant nomenclature and monitor research developments to keep MASS plant names updated.
  • Other Functions

Other Functions

• Work collaboratively and effectively to promote teamwork, equality and inclusiveness.
  • Work in partnership with colleagues within the CNS community and across the campus to support the Dean’s strategic priorities.
• Attend trainings as needed.
  • Perform other duties as assigned in support of the mission and goals of the College of Natural Sciences.

Minimum Qualifications

• A high school diploma and five (5) years of herbarium or natural history collections experience or an Associate's degree or higher in a botany-related field such as plant taxonomy, biology, ecology or conservation, and three (3) year of herbarium or natural history collections experience.
• Understanding of and experience with plant systematics, nomenclature, plant taxonomy, related literature and resources, and botanical terms.
• Familiarity with herbarium collections "best practices" for handling, storing, filing and protecting historical and recently archived collections as established by natural history collections associations and societies.
• Knowledge and experience with Northeastern flora or exhibit the ability to become proficient with the regional flora.
• Natural history collections database experience.
• Understanding of, and ability to work with, Symbiota DarwinCore and other biological data standards for compatibility with world-wide herbarium data.
• Working knowledge of office-productivity software.
• Written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to prepare written reports and instructions.

Preferred Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree or higher in a botany-related field (e.g., plant taxonomy, biology, ecology, conservation) and at least one (1) year of herbarium or natural history collections experience.
• Prior experience with natural history collections.